The World's Dirty Little Secret {Guest Post}

Tel Aviv at night

Hello, friends! As you know, Kendra, Julie and I are passionate about social justice issues. Recently, our dear friend Nancy talked to us about seeing the effects of human trafficking firsthand and a connection she made with someone who is trying to do something to help. We were more than happy to jump in and help spread awareness for this outstanding issue! We'll let Nancy explain:

There is a dirty little secret that most people don’t like to talk about. But the thing with secrets is this: the more they are exposed to the light of day (and the light of Jesus) the more that can be done to change things. Today’s topic is sex trafficking. Some of you reading this blog will think to yourselves, “I’ve known about sex trafficking for years, this is no secret.” And others of you will be shocked to know it’s happening in your cities, right outside your doors, no matter where you live.

In 2011, John and I went on a mission trip to Moldova and Switzerland. There is an amazingly stark contrast between the two countries. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe and Switzerland is the wealthiest. While we were in Moldova we spent our time visiting middle school through high school kids passing out information about human trafficking. Why? Because of the extreme poverty in Moldova, it is imperative that these kids know how to protect themselves from slick-talking predators who promise jobs in foreign countries or “boyfriends” who want to take them to a “better life.” Those “jobs” and “better lives” end up being a horrible nightmare of an existence where young girls could end up servicing up to 25-100 men a day. Yes, you read that correctly.

Leaving Moldova and landing in Switzerland certainly felt more “comfortable” and yet, before the week ended, we’d seen the other side of the coin. Not the young girls in school that we’d seen in Moldova, but the girls who’d somehow ended up in the Red Light District of Zurich. I hadn’t expected to see such young girls sitting in windows selling themselves, girls that seemed too young to end up in the middle of a nightmare. I had always thought that prostitutes chose that lifestyle, which is far from the truth. Many, if not most, entered that lifestyle as a result of human trafficking, childhood sexual abuse, and poverty. Few, if any, end up as prostitutes because of an informed and empowered free choice.
 
It all left me wondering what I could do to help, and today I have the opportunity to make a small difference in a big ocean of a problem...{Read the rest of the post here}

If you're anything like us, you'll be touched by reading the rest of the post. Thanks for sharing a tangible way to help with us, Nancy! 

Kendra, Kristin & Julie